Published on March 23, 2017

Management Associate Professor Dusya Vera was recently awarded the 2017 University of Houston Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award for her strong commitment to impacting student learning, and fostering academic success of students.

A Bauer College faculty member has earned one of the university’s top honors for teaching.

Associate Professor Dusya Vera is the 2017 Recipient of the University of Houston Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award, given to one person annually with a record of superlative teaching and a strong commitment to impacting student learning, ultimately fostering the academic success of students.

“In winning this teaching award, I look back at my teaching career at Bauer College and UH, and I feel great gratitude,” Vera said. “I am grateful to all my Bauer and UH colleagues, and our professional staff, who are always very generous in sharing their wisdom with me and from whom I continuously learn.”

She added: “I am even more grateful to all my Bauer students who challenge my thinking and help me to stretch myself and grow, as much as I hope to help them stretch themselves and grow. One of my colleagues always says that being a professor is the best job on the planet — I cannot agree more. Being part of our students’ journeys as they pursue their goals and dreams is an honor and a great responsibility.”

Vera teaches classes on strategic management, global leadership, global strategy and ethical leadership (both in classroom and online formats) at the undergraduate, MBA, EMBA and Ph.D. levels at Bauer, and participates in several of Bauer’s Study Abroad Trips. She is also an active researcher, focusing on strategic leadership, innovation, organizational learning and improvisation, with recent publications in The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, and the Journal of Management Studies, among others. She has also been appointed as associate editor for the world’s leading academic leadership journal, TheLeadership Quarterly.

She earned her first degree in computer engineering in Ecuador. She earned an MBA in the U.S. and worked as a consultant in the financial and IT sectors in Latin America.

“I always managed to teach at a university on the weekends,” she said, following her passion to share knowledge with others.

After earning her Ph.D. in Canada, Vera’s career path ultimately led to Bauer College and UH, where she received the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award in 2010-2011, the MidCon Teaching Excellence Award for EMBA teaching in 2013, as well as a Provost Recognition Award in 2014. The Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award is divided into a cash award of $15,000 and $10,000 in departmental support.

“We are thrilled that Dusya has been recognized with this award,” said Professor Steve Werner, chair of Bauer’s Department of Management. “To be eligible, you must have previously been selected for an Excellence in Teaching Award at the university level, so to win, you must clearly be among the best of the best.”

Vera has taught in multiple international locations, including Ecuador, Colombia, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Chile, and China.